Little Flower
by Luc16
Summary: ONE-SHOT! based off the song "Little Bird" from Fiddler on the Roof. Cygnus Black struggles with disowning Andromeda after she marries Ted Tonks. Please review! :)


**Ok so this is another of my favorite scenes from Fiddler on the Roof. It's so emotional and intense! I was trying to figure out if there was any situation in Harry Potter that could parallel the scene in Fiddler and I found the story of Andromeda Black. Andromeda was the sister of Bellatrix and Narcissa who was disowned due to the fact she married a muggleborn. Just a quick description of some of the names mentioned in this story: Rodolphus Lestrange is Bellatrix's husband. The Rockwood family were a pureblood family and I made it so Andromeda was supposed to marry someone from their family. Orion Black is Andromeda's uncle and Sirius Black's father. Orion is married to Walburga. Lucretia Prewett is a distant relative of the blacks and Abraxas Malfoy is Lucius Malfoy's father. I think this covers everything lol If you have any questions please let me know and I'll try to clarify things! Please review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

**(P.S. look up the scene on youtube to get the full affect. Look up "Fiddler on the Roof Little Bird")**

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I rub my face as I look at the papers in front of me. It has been a long day and I still have loads of paperwork to do. Not to mention family problems. Bellatrix and Rodolphus were not a happily married couple, not that I thought they would be. However, the marriage had secured the loyalty of the Lestrange family and given security to Bellatrix. Not that she needed it, I think idly. Bellatrix was skilled in magic, especially the dark arts, and in combat fighting. She had also inherited her mother's cruelty and seemed to enjoy pain. I am suddenly thrown back to a memory of Bella kicking the family house elf, smiling in glee as it cried out in pain. I shake my head. She was married, she was no longer my responsibility.

I shuffle through some of the paperwork, sorting what is priority and what is not. Mail from my mother, not priority. Water bill, priority. A letter from the Rookwood family, priority. Which reminds me of Andromeda and the way she's been acting recently. She is the perfection of a pure-blood, high-class young women yet is disgusted by the actions of the Death Eaters. I know she doesn't like the pure-blood ways, why I wasn't sure, but I have a feeling it has to do with that boy. I clench my hand in anger. That boy is going to be the ruin of her. From what the house elves say, Andromeda has been sneaking out at night and going somewhere secret. I have told her never to see that boy again, that he will tarnish our reputation. He is a mudblood for Merlin's sake! He shouldn't even have magic. I'll talk to her tonight, I think.

A letter from Orion Black, not priority. A letter from Lucretia Prewett to Druella, how did that get into my paperwork? A letter from Abraxas Malfoy, priority. I sigh, feeling a twinge of sadness. I knew that Abraxas wanted to propose a marriage between Lucius and Narcissa. I felt it was a fabulous match but I wasn't sure I was ready to arrange another marriage. I wasn't sure I was ready to let go of my baby girl. _That's ridiculous Cygnus, get ahold of yourself_, I reprimand myself. Lucius would be good to Narcissa. I would write Abraxas back today.

"Cygnus," Druella hisses from the doorwary. My head snaps up, _when did she get in here?_

"Druella, I have told you time and time again, knock. Do not make me say-"

"Andromeda got married."

"What!?"

"Andromeda. Got. Married," Druella spits through her teeth. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Oh no Andromeda, please tell me you didn't.

"To who?" I ask quietly but I already know the answer.

"The mudblood from school. I received an owl from Walburga saying she had seen them come out of a muggle church. She married a mudblood, Cygnus!" Druella cries. Her eyes are furious and her body rigid with anger. I am too stunned to answer. I did not think Andromeda would go that far. Not my little flower. I would never admit this out loud, but Andromeda was my favorite. Bellatrix was Druella's favorite, it wasn't even a secret. Narcissa was loved by both of us and didn't seem to mind that she wasn't a favorite. But Andromeda, my little flower.

"Cygnus," Druella says, a warning in her voice. I know what I should do but I don't want to.

"Druella-"

"Don't you dare even consider it!"

"Do not interrupt me!" I roar. Druella purses her lips but remains silent. I take a deep breath, burying my emotions and attachments. As a pureblood I have a duty to follow, a reputation to uphold.

"Andromeda is no longer our daughter. Burn her off the family tree," I order. Druella's eyes shine with glee and a smile twitches at her mouth. She stares at me with a look of victory. I wonder if she enjoys my pain.

"Get out. I have work to do," I snarl. Druella dips her head and sweeps out of the room. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

Oh Andromeda, my little flower. I don't understand what's happening today. Everything is all a blur. I lean back in my chair, my arms resting on the sides of my chair.

All I can see is a happy child, no matter what your mother said to you. Such a happy flower, my happy flower. I always saw you as beautiful, did you know that? Even though your mother always hated your hair, I loved it because it was mine. I gave you your hair, your eyes.

Gentle and kind and affectionate, such a sweet little flower. Did you know I named you? As soon as your mother saw you she didn't want you because you were another girl. But when I saw you…I loved you immediately. You planted a seed in my heart and grew to be my favorite. I named you after a flower I saw out the window and when I said your name, you smiled. I remember the day you came up to me, you were five, and pointed to my hair.

"We have the same hair!" you said excitedly. You wore this beautiful smile as you said it and you watered my dry heart. I watched you grow into the beautiful flower you are today but you will always remain my little flower.

I remember you were the one who showed Narcissa how to love. Your mother didn't care about her second and third children and focused all her attention on Bellatrix. I was too busy and it's not a man's place to raise a child. You were left with the responsibility to raise your younger sister. She looks up to you, you know? I remember when you stood up to Rodolphus when he pushed a little boy down. You scolded him like a mother and stood your ground when he yelled back. My strong, brave little flower.

You were beautiful as the maid of honor at Bellatrix's wedding. I think you were more beautiful than the bride. I remember as I walked Bellatrix down, we shared a look. I raised an eyebrow and your mouth twitched into a smile. I had to resist smiling; your mother would have murdered me on the spot.

I remember how you twirled in the dress I bought you for the Yule Ball. It was a beautiful rose pink and it flowed around you like water. You were so happy, my happy little flower. You giggled and laughed as you danced. Then you insisted that I dance with you and you pulled me across the floor. I laughed and spun you around, one of the few times I was able to teach you something. One of the few times I was able to hold you in my arms without your mother scowling at me. You were my little flower.

"Papa?" a voice snaps me out of my thoughts. My eyes fly open and there she is standing in my office, wringing her hands. My little flower Andromeda. Her eyes are wide and pleading. They are brown, just like my own. Her lip quivers slightly and her hands shake.

"I beg you to accept us!" Andromeda cries, her voice wavering. I am stunned once again. Accept them? How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in, everything I stand for?

I realize I'm looking at the papers on my desk and look back to Andromeda's hopeful face. On the other hand, can I deny my own daughter? My beautiful little flower?

On the other hand, how can I turn my back on my blood? My pure blooded family? If I tried to bend that far, my reputation would break. My family would be stripped of its title, its status. Generations of Blacks would be worthless.

On the other hand…no, there is no other hand.

"No Andromeda," I say quietly. Andromeda's face falls and my heart breaks. I will sacrifice my heart for my family's reputation. I will bury the shards of my heart deep within my soul, never to be found again.

"No, there is no other hand," I say, mostly to convince myself.

"But-"

"No Andromeda!" I stand up, hands slamming against the table.

"But Papa!"

"No!" I shove the papers off my desk and she takes a step back.

"Papa!" this last cry breaks whatever was left of my heart. I look up at a woman with tears running down her face. She has the same color eyes as I do, but they are no longer mine. Her brown hair, the same color as mine, cascades like a waterfall down her back, but the color is no longer mine.

"You are no longer my daughter. Leave this house and never return," my voice is emotionless, cold, it is not my own. The woman's face contorts into one of agony and her lips try to form words.

"Please papa," she breathes. I continue to stare at her, stare at her with no emotion, no soul. More tears fall from her eyes and sobs rip from her throat. She grits her teeth, closes her eyes, and runs from the room. I can hear her run down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. I hear a pop of apparition and she's gone. My little flower is gone.

I mechanically pick up the papers strewn across the floor and sit back down at my desk. It had been a long day and the mountain of paperwork didn't help. I began to sort through the papers, choosing which was priority and which was not. It wasn't until I was dying, years later, that I realize what this day did to me. It not only broke my heart, it robbed by soul. My little flower, gone forever.


End file.
